How two rugby players created their own CBD product

Day was injured in 2018, which coincided with CBD getting taken off the banned substances list for professional athletes. He started using CBD for their injuries, but there was one problem.

“We quickly realised there weren’t products out there with the providence and safety profile we needed as professional athletes,” says Day. “We didn’t know how it was made, or anything about the companies making them.”

Day didn’t feel entirely comfortable using the CBD products that were on the market.

“I was nervous before I got tested. I wasn’t 100 per cent confident that what it said on the box would be CBD.

“We saw this as an opportunity. We knew a lot of professional athletes using CBD who would’ve been in same situation as us, so we decided go out and source what we think is the safest product on the market,” Day says.

“It’s important to do what we’re doing so we can give people peace of mind so they can go into their drugs test and feel confident they’ll pass.”

But when they launched fourfiveCBD, there may have been some suspicions at first.

“After we launched the brand, we both got randomly tested three times in a month – you usually get tested two or three times a year, so they were obviously on to us,” Day says.

Now, fourfiveCBD offers a range of CBD products, including topical products and supplements.

Day and Kruis send their CBD to the Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG), where it goes to a lab for independent testing for cross-contamination with all banned substances, including THC.

As well as professional athletes, the pair aim their products at anyone with an active lifestyle, for recovery, but customers have also used them as a sleep aid, and to help with anxiety.

Now, the start-up is setting its sights on getting novel food status, which all CBD companies need by 31 March next year to continue selling their products.

“We have to make sure our brand and products are safe – there’s a lot of work behind it, but we’re confident we’ve done it early enough. We’ve put a number of measures in place to make sure we come out strongest,” Day says.

Day welcomes the regulation, and says it will give the company an advantage.

“A lot of brands are jumping in, thinking this is a good way to make quick money. It’s seen as a booming industry, but it’s also leading to people putting poor products on the market, which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid and have put so much work into.

“I understand some people are annoyed because they think there should be the freedom to have any CBD products on the market, but I think it’s a great move, and we’ll see a lot of poor products drop out of the market.

Since launching two years ago, the brand has secured a spot in 130 Boots stores across the UK. But there’s much more Day and Kruis have their sights on. Another part of their focus is educating people on what CBD is, and what it isn’t.

“There’s a big stigma around CBD, so for us it’s all about educating people in what CBD does and doesn’t do. The key is it doesn’t get you high,” Day says.

“The key is convincing people it’s not going to get them high, so we push people to try it because once they get their heads around it, they can see it does work and it doesn’t get them high.

“Educating people that it’s a safe product will be key to moving forward, and it’s one of the key things in the market now. The brands who are educating people want to be in the industry long-term.”